Garmin Megathread-Ask your questions here-See post 1 on how to search thread

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

How did it fail?

Hi Krusty

Thanks for the response. For some reason it decided to work perfectly when I tried it today.

average_runner wrote: »

Hi all;

I have a garmin 410 for about 3 years maybe more!!

Lately i notice when i charged the watch over night and go for a run the next day, it says low battery and turn itself off and comes back on.

For example on Sat morning i headed out for a run, after a mile the watch rebooted itself saying low battery, then came back on and lasted the next 2-3 hours. But it would say low battery. GPS was on and it was tracking my run for that 2-3 hours.

Any ideas or is it time for a new one or can i replace the battery?

Thanks

Sounds like a dodgy battery. Always a good idea to try a hard reset, on the remote chance that it might improve the situation, but I doubt it. There are instructions on how to replace the battery yourself, but it's a non-supported hack/repair job, requires soldering, and would likely kill-off any chances of getting Garmin to swap it for a refurb (which is an option).

Oswalder wrote: »

Krusty, do you know when the Forerunner 220 will be available in Ireland, please?

My 405cx has not been compliant for the last two weeks. I can't start it for a run because the lap/reset button is stuck in a bit so I can't even initialise the bezel. Only the start/stop button is responding.

I'm thinking of FR220 as an early 40th birthday present to myself as I want a watch for DCM. But when will it be available?

I wouldn't have a clue I'm afraid. I don't work in the trade; I'm just a nerd who reads the manuals! Maybe send a pm to Amphkingwest?

Colostomy Bag wrote: »

I've had my Garmin 410 for just about a year now and I still don't feel that comfortable with it or even use anything apart from the start and stop buttons. I used to think it was necessary to 'lock' the screen on every run - but ended up stopping the timer when trying to press the two buttons simultaneously - I eventually gave up on that and now just press start at the beginning and stop at the end. Am I correct in saying I don't really need to lock the screen and the timer will only stop when I press the stop/start button? Can you mess around with anything during a run without affecting the 'recording' (as long as you don't press stop?).

The biggest problem with not locking the Bezel is that rain (or moisture in the air) will cause it to switch between data screens, but could also feasibly switch to one of the other watch modes, like 'standby', 'GPS' or 'Settings'. This situation was a big problem on the 405, improved slightly for the 405cx, and improved again for the 410. If it's not a problem for you, then I wouldn't bother. Locking the bezel, the start/stop and lap buttons are still functional, so no difference there.

I would take the time to read through the manual, and start to make use of some of the other functionality, to get best use/value from the watch. There's a wealth of functionality that you're not using, from Intervals, to Advanced Workouts, to compass mapping (very handy when running in unfamiliar surroundings), to HR-based training. But if you're happy with what it does for you now, good!

On a 405, when running an Interval Workout, is there anyway to change what is shown on display. I'd like to be able to show my current pace, but at the moment it just shows distance left to complete.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Bring it back to where you bought it from and demand a replacement or a refund. If you bought it online, I'd bring a backup stopwatch to the marathon and a pace band.

It seems to be fine now, have had no more problems with it.

I make a point of having the cable connected to the watch before plugging in the usb to the computer rather than the other way around which seemed to be causing problems as the connection mightn't have been made properly that way!

geld wrote: »

Does anyone know if it is possible to get replacement screws for a 410 chest strap? They are tiny. I replaced the battery but had a hell of a job loosening the screws. In the end two are now damaged and the cover is not fully secure.

I contacted Garmin directly but had no success other than they suggesting I buy a new strap. I'm just out of warranty!

From the Garmin forums:

...and I would not lose the screws as Garmin does not have replacement parts for them. So, if you lose a screw you are SOL.

doughef wrote: »

Hi guys

Apologise in advance! I'm sure this has been asked a million times.
I simply want a decent Garmin, not too sure if I would use the heart rate monitor so I just need GPS / Pace / splits /intervals etc..

What would be the best bet? maybe a few levels up from the basic?

Also.. Any recommendations of good sites to buy?

I do a lot of running.. member of a club etc, so I do speed and distance work but am fed up asking "what pace we at?? How long we done"??

Thanks

It really depends on your budget. Hard to beat Amazon.co.uk prices. 610 is good value at £199. Forerunner 310 is very good value at £160. Forerunner 10 is the cheapest, at £84, and is the most basic entry-level model.

doughef wrote: »

Thanks Krusty... 610 looks good

BTW.. I think you paced the 3.30 group marathon in DCM 2009?

I surely did (Ironically that's my race number for this year's race!). Were you aiming for 3:30 that year? Did you make it?!

doughef wrote: »

You were the guy whose pacer balloon blew away at the start line I think??... (kinda like my hope of a sub 3.30

Nah, I was the skinny one who held onto my balloon.
That was Village Runner.

geld wrote: »

Tks Krusty, Don't know what "SOL" means but sounds like I'm screwed:rolleyes:. The unit is working but I'm afraid that moisture will eventually creap in and cause damage.

I'm guessing you're sh1te out of luck!

SucCes09 wrote: »

My Garmin (forerunner 305) has suffered a similar fate... When I connect to the Garmin Training Center, it states "Transfer Complete. Your workouts and courses data was successfully received from your fitness device. There was a problem receiving the activities."
I've deleted data from the cycling and running more then 3 months old, but still the issue persists.
I've also tried to upload the data to strava (to rule out issues with the Garmin Training Center) but that hangs on upload.
The Garmin is also now difficult to start up - taking 3-4 turns and some fiddling with the power and reset buttons to get it started.
Sounds like it might be on it's last legs?

Definitely sounds like it might be on its last legs (with the twiddling and the power issues, but I'd imagine you should still be able to upload your activities (when it's powered on/working). Did you try a soft reset? It may be that there's a corrupt workout somewhere, so as a last resort, delete all activities, and after that, try a hard reset.

Shouldn't you be over on the triathlon forum?

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I'd guess that either one of your workouts is corrupted, or one of the xml files residing on the device. If you can live without the activities, I'd do a hard-reset or delete all activities.

Thanks for the reply Krusty, I tried all of that but to no avail, even after a hard reset I got the error.
However when I went into the watch as a solid state drive I noticed the Garmin.fit file had been duplicated something like 10 times but with a size of 0KB, this was on the first screen and not actually in the activities folder. I deleted all of the the new ones and the original assuming that it was corrupted and causing the duplications and hoping it would be recreated when I turned the watch back on and thankfully that worked. Pure luck really on my part!

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

That's what I meant by 'files residing on the device', but didn't realize that the FR10 used FIT files (which are not XML). The error message is usually associated with the tree structure of an XML file, so it's likely that the Garmin Connect site was trying to interpret the FIT file and place it in an XML structure. Anyway, glad it's sorted. Would have thought that a master reset would wipe the device, removing any legacy corrupt/incomplete files. Are these the steps you followed:

Yep that's what I did although I could have the file extension wrong now that I think of it, that was just off the top of my head. All of the runs and records on the watch were reset but there was still that duplication of the original file.

Colostomy Bag wrote: »

Krusty,
Quick question before the marathon on the lock bezel function (Forerunner 410). Is it possible to lock the bezel both before you start your run and after? I was under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that I had to start the run and then click on start and reset simultaneously (enter and quit) to lock the bezel - and nearly every time I did this I ended up stopping the timer, rather than locking the bezel. So my question is - can I lock the bezel independently of the timer being on or not?

Yes, absolutely! Lock the bezel while you're waiting in the corral (remember to make sure that GPS is enabled!), and hit the [Start] button when you cross the start line. Hit the same button when you cross the finish line. Hold the Lap/Reset button after you're finished (just to mark that workout complete) and then you can unlock the bezel at your leisure.

You should try it now, just to make sure you won't have any problems tomorrow. Good luck tomorrow!

Colostomy Bag wrote: »

Krusty,
I've been trying without success to lock the bezel, it just won't work no matter what I try. Should I be in a specific window to do this? Pain in the ass to be honest. I'm probably just going to have to run with this unlocked.:mad:

I can't quite remember, but I thought you could lock the bezel on any screen. Have you tried to lock the bezel on the Training screen (the screen you get to, by holding the right hand side of the bezel)?

It's no harm if you have to keep the bezel unlocked for the race anyway. You could try disabling all of the other data field screens, so only the one you want will show, Don't get stressed about it. The watch isn't going to run your race for you. It's all you, buddy!

Trampas wrote: »

Maybe you could help me here Krusty

Have a Garmin Forerunner 405CX. Software release 2.40.0.0

When I upload my runs to connect lately it appears the GPS isn't as good as it use to be.

e.g. from DCM was I was running doing Marlborough Mews and Annamore Parade instead of the NCR.

I understand how GPS works etc

Is there something I could reset or something?

Hi Trampas, can you provide a GC link to your activity, so we can take a look? The answer is that strictly speaking, there are no configurable options around GPS accuracy. The watch does download and store an almanac, which provides up to date information about the orbital information of the satellites, and if that does somehow become corrupted, then your watch may not be tracking as many satellites as it could. But to be honest, it's a bit of a long shot. It is far more likely that stuck in amongst thousands of other runners and surrounded by tall buildings, your watch didn't have a clear enough view of the sky to lock-on to enough satellites. Emer_911 mentioned to me that it took almost 10-12 minutes for her watch to track enough satellites to get a reliable reading, so it may be that your watch suffered the same kind of issue.

You could try a hard-reset, which will force it to re-download the almanac (and likely provide a much-needed reset), but be aware, that you will lose any existing data on the watch. Generally-speaking, the quality of your GPS signal shouldn't deteriorate over time. It's a case of either 'it works' or 'it doesn't work', but there have been enough posts on the subject on this forum to suggest that there's an argument that the electronics may be failing over time. I'd go with the hard-reset, and if that doesn't work and the GPS accuracy isn't sufficient for your needs, then you could always go down the Garmin Support route (they'll replace your watch with a refurbished watch, for a hefty fee).

Trampas wrote: »

Thanks

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/396960745

Hi Trampas, my run doesn't look dissimilar, particularly over those stretches (where I seem to have stopped off in St Peter's Church for a bit of divine intervention!).

To be honest, it looks like more of a case of poor satellite coverage/signal, than anything specific to your watch. The rest of your race looks like a pretty reasonable reflection of the route. If still in doubt, I'd go with a hard reset, but I wouldn't expect that your accuracy is going to improve. Congrats on the PB!

Ferris B wrote: »

Hi
Am looking for any advice on a defective HR strap for the 610. It's registering very high figures (>210!! which I hope are not correct). It was always a bit high for first mile but now figures are high for most of run.

I have tried:
- Replacing battery
- Using gel on contacts to get better connection
- Hand washing strap per instructons.

BTW I did check my HR independently just in case it was actually an over active ticker but I'm ok.

Any thoughts.

If I've to replace strap should I go for Garmin strap or maybe other make (Polar?)

Thanks

The Polar HRM doesn't work with the Garmin watch. Some folks use the elasticated piece of the polar strap and connect it to a Garmin HR transmitter (perhaps that's what you meant?) but if your results are really that bad, then this may not solve your problem.

There is a new Garmin HR strap which is supposed to be a massive improvement (e.g. no spikes or erroneous data), but it's neither cheap, nor available at the moment.
It will be released with the Forerunner 620, but will also but backwards compatible with older Forerunner models. However:
1) It features an accelerometer/running dynamics - but this information will only be available/interpreted on a Forerunner 620.
2) The battery in the HR strap may not last as long as a traditional HR strap, given that it may transmit additional data, for these running dynamics fields.
3) It's $99.
4) It's not available yet.

Ferris B wrote: »

Thanks for info Krusty.

I had read about that new strap for the 620 but even if it was available it's out of budget range. Mind you if I did get it, I'd be in danger of getting the matching 620 ( bit like the OH getting a full outfit to go with the new bag she bought last week).

Reckon I'll have to lookout for replacement 610 strap.

Can you try someone else's strap, just to make sure it's not your watch? Or else try your strap on someone else's watch, if you want to avoid personal hygiene issues.

Micilin Muc wrote: »

Something strange happening with my 305 again (I think). This time, the Player view on Garmin Connect is not allowing me to click on the second half of the graphs. Minor problem, but is there something else wrong?!

http://connect.garmin.com/jsPlayer/397474526

That is nuts! Not only did you break four hours, you also stepped sideways into a new reality, altering the value of 'zero'!
The problem seemed to happen just as you turned off for Walkinstown.
Do you remember anything unusual, like stepping into a portal?
Did you feel anything change at a molecular level?
Did you notice any bald people wearing black hats?

Trampas wrote: »

Krusty me again.

Uploaded a few runs today and seems like I can select any part of the 2nd half of run in the player tab

http://connect.garmin.com/jsPlayer/404757662

http://connect.garmin.com/jsPlayer/404757687

Any ideas what is causing the problem?

Snap, I have one too! I think that it's safe to assume it's a bug in Garmin Connect, and there isn't much you can do about it. Given that they haven't fixed Micilin Muc's activities, I'd say it'll take a while before you see these fixed.